Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-01
TUESDAY. FEBRUARY l,
Hunting an Issue.

Hunting an Issue.
The Philadelphia Record, in com
menting upon Senator HoAR's resolu-
ton to investigate the alleged Texas
outrage, says:
"The relations of the two races In
the South have steadily improved in re-
cent years, and will continue to improve
unless bad blood be stirred by such par
tisan intormcddling rs this Senate reso-
luton undertakes. In proportion as
the influence Of the partisans whom re-
construction fastened upon the South
has declined, and her people have taken
control of their own affairs, conflicts
between whites and blacks have de-
creased in number. The general fact
of the prosperous and peaceful condl-
ton of the South cannot be disproved
by o story OF outrage on the Texas
frontier any more than the lawless
character OF the inhabitants of Kan
sas and Indiana can be assumed
from the criminal acts of an occasional
desperate. Judge Kelley, on return
ing from his recent southern tour, bore
emphatic testimony to the great i'm
provement in the moral and physical
condition of the negroes since his former
trip; TO their increased wages, and to
their security and contentment. Such
voluntary testimony cannot be over
come by the partisan investigation of
sporadic case of southern outrage com
mitted under strong provocation. Such
events are sad and deplorable in the
last degree, whether they occur in the
North or the South but what is TO be
gained for the cause of public order by
the Senate going out of its way to in
vestigate matters that are solely within
the jurisdiction of the States?"
Correct. And the fact that the sitna-
tion in the South is as the Record de-
scribes it explains the recent senatorial
effort to wave the bloody shirt. The
"Grand Old Party" has been in hard
luck lately. 1t is party hunting for
an issue. Two or three times recently
it became happy in the belief that it had
found an issue, but when it came to the
test the issue failed to vitalize. MIR.
BLAINE thought he had struck the key
note for Republican crusade against
the South when he raised the cry Of
starvation wages" Facts and figures
furnished by unimpeachable witnesses
from both the North and the South
soon convinced the masses that Mr.
BLAINE's keynote was a false note IN
more respects than one. The northern
people, as well as q majority of the
northern papers, could not feel inspired
by It. Indeed it was "toO thin and
too grossly out of harmony with the
truth to captivate even the perverted
ear of some of the organs, and,
as consequence, the Plumed Knight
was again 8" left lamenting his
folly. The next wild grasp for
party capital was made by the es-
teemed, original, and SUPERFICIAL st.
Louis Globe Democrat. That paper
conceived the brilliant idea of making
a comparison between the number OF
ex-Federal soldiers and the number
of ex-Confederate soldiers in the
United States Senate, which com
parison it put before the country
as a full-fedged issue. By pro-
cess of information unknown and
unknowable to all aveitself, it reached
the conclusion that its figures showed
that the North was ignoring its soldier
element and that the rebel element was
getting possession of the Senate. With
characteristic warmth, not TO say
venom, it rung the changes on its CON
cIusion in season and out of season.
However. the northern heart refused TO
fire. and the Globe-DCmOcraPS issue,
together with the boom that was at
tsched to it, has gone to join BLAINE's
issue and the BLAINE boom. Now,
last, but rs a matter of folly not least,
Senator HoAR turns from coming
THuCYDIDEs and proposes to be the
MosEs that shall lead tho Republican
marty out of its terrible straits He
and his associates announce that they
will commence business at the old klu-
klux stand and devote their attention
to the work of stirring up bad blood
between the races, exciting sectional
prejudice, and collecting material for
the use Of outrage correspondents.
The resolution referred to informs the
public that the stock of these worthless
consists in powder that has been
burned once and job-lot of
dead issues, and that upon the success
of the venture rests the only hope OF
putting the Republican party upon its
feet again. VIII Senator HoAR and his
co-conspirators succeed in their unholy
undertaking? We have faith that they
will not. Indeed, as much as we repro
bate the HoAR resolution, we have faith
that good will come OF its adoption.
The result will be, We believe, that the
truth about the South will be brought
out in stronger light than ever before
by independent northern papers. and
that the Democratic party in the
South will see the necessity forrenewed
vigilance--see the necessity for closing
up their ranks with old-time solidity
against the northern Stalwarts and
their southern allies.
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